He laid out every detail of his underhanded battle plan, then described the final outcome as objectively as he could.
Kanae listened quietly to every step Tetsu no Sosuke had taken and everything he had done. By the end, even she could not help opening her mouth in surprise. "That really happened?"
Tetsu no Sosuke sighed. "To be honest, it makes me feel as though there's a deep darkness in me."
Kanae smiled. "Like looking into a mirror and seeing yourself?"
"Something like that." Tetsu no Sosuke smiled. "I don't regret using those methods. In fact, I'm glad things turned out this way. But Nakime's resolve left me feeling a little regret and sympathy."
Kanae nodded. "I understand how you feel."
"I know." Tetsu no Sosuke buried his head in her arms again.
Kanae was a little helpless. He was clinging to her again.
She gently combed her fingers through his hair and said, "This outcome is actually a good one. Nakime, as a human, would never have allowed herself to go on living like that. If one day you really didn't come back, I think... after I gave birth to our child and raised him until he could support himself, I would go looking for you too. It would take a long time, though. I'd worry you might get scared and think I didn't want you anymore."
Tetsu no Sosuke's heart clenched.
He shook his head instinctively. "Don't..."
"That wouldn't be up to you," Kanae said with a smile. "If you were already dead, how could you stop me?"
Tetsu no Sosuke sighed and looked up at her.
Their eyes met, and he could see the fierce resolve in hers.
Their child's birth and growth would take many years.
But even time could not overcome the strength of that